<p>Approximately 500 variable harlequin frogs, formally known as Atelopus varius, were released in central Panama’s Colon province on Wednesday, January 17, as part of a Smithsonian research effort to reintroduce the endangered species to the wild.</p><p>The frog is named after its multi-colored shades and black spots, and once could be found from Costa Rica to Panama before becoming endangered due to the amphibian chytrid fungus, a pathogenic fungus discovered in 1998.</p><p>The 500 frogs released on January 17 were born in a breeding center between 2013 and 2016, according to a Smithsonian press release</a>, and they will be monitored via tiny transmitters</a> in an effort to understand how the amphibians transition from captivity to the wild.</p><p>This footage shows the release of the frogs. Credit: Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute via Storyful</p><br />
